Automobile turn signal



Feb. 2, 1937. w. c. MoR'roN ET A1.

AUTOMOBILE TURN SIGNAL Filed Feb. 6, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mv I NHG

2e. w@ A, 0 f2 aznar( M4 /4 H0 E/MMVMV irme/ver Feb. 2, 1937. w. c. MORTON ET A1. 2,069,382

AUTOMOBILE TURN SIGNAL Filed Feb. 6, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @Trae/ver Patented Feb. 2, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMOBILE TURN SIGNAL Application February 6, 1933, Serial No. 655,406

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in automobile signals of the kind designed to indicate to adjacent tramo a drivers intention to turn to right or left.

The main object of the invention is to provide such a signal including a novel, eilicient and convenient form of control switch or mechanism by which the lighting of the usual turn indicating arrows may be controlled by -the driver from his seat at the steering wheel.

Another object is to provide a signal control mechanism including an electromagnet with dual windings energized under control of manually operable signal controlling switches and when energized acting to hold said switches closed, and a thermostatic contact breaker arranged to release and open the said switches after a predetermined period of time to extinguish the direction indicating arrows after a turn hasv been made.

Another object is to provide a signal control mechanism of this kind in which the polarity of the windings on the switchI locking electromagnet is reversed whereby either winding when energized alone will operate to lock its associated switch but should the Wrong switch be inadvertently operated it may be released by operating the other switch and causing the two windings to in effect each neutralize the other. Were it not for this novel and advantageous arrangement of the electromagnet the switch would remain closed until the thermostatic circuit breaker had heated and opened the circuit. y

A further object is to provide a control mechanism including plungers adapted to be pushed inward by the driver and operating to close jack or leaf spring switches controlling the energizav tion of the turn indicating lights and the electromagnet, the said plungers being then magnetically attracted and held in their inthrustV position by the core of the electromagnet until a thermostatic circuit breaker heats and opens upon which the plungers are released and move outward to normal position under influence of a spring so that the switches open to break the circuit to the signal lights. The plungers also carry pilot lights connected in parallel with the signal lights for the usual purpose.

Still a further object is to provide an assembly of this kind in a simple, durable and conveniently installed form.

The foregoing and other objects together with means whereby the same may be carried into effect will best be understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention taken in connection with accompanying drawings wherein:

`Figure 1 is a top plan view of the signal control switch or mechanism, the cover and one of the plungers being shown in cross section. 5

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a face view of the turn indicating ysignal alone.

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross section through lo the signal. 4 s

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic wiring plan of the control mechanism and signal.

Referring now with greater particularity to the drawings the signal, control mechanism or switch comprises b mounting plate I, an outwardly spaced electromagnet base 2 of insulating material supported from the plate I by studs 3 and a thermostat shelf I also of insulating material mounted by brackets 5 between the plate I and base 2. Near their outer ends the plate I and base 2 are pierced with aligned plunger apertures 'I and 8 and a threaded collar or neck 9 is secured rigidly in the apertures 8 in said plate I and project therefrom. These necks 9 extend through apertures A in the dash B and nuts I0 are threaded on the necks and drawn up tight holding the assembly rigidly in place behind the dash. This is of course only one of the possible mountings and arrangements that may be employed and is hereshown for purposes of exempliflcation only.

Switch operating plungers II and I2 of elongated tubular form are slidably mounted through the necks 9 and apertures 'I and areiof such length as to project at their ends beyond the dash B 35 and the base 2 in their normal position as shown. A flat leaf spring I 3 secured at IIa to the mounting plate I midway between the plungers engages or overlays at its ends angle brackets I4 secured by screws I5 to the plungers whereby they are normally urged outward to their normal position shown to the left in Figure 1 as'will be understood. At their outer ends the plungers II and I2 are threaded at I6 to receive tapered and enlarged caps I'I which contain suitably colored lenses or jewels I8. Small pilot lamp sockets one of which is shown at I8 are mounted Within the open outer ends of the plungers II and I2 and receive pilot lamps 20 which illuminate the jewels I8 for a. purpose to be described, one terminal of said sockets being grounded to the plungers and thence to the supporting framework as a whole and the lead from the other terminal emerging from apertures 2| in the plungers as will be apparent. At their inner ends the p1 ers II and I2 carry shoes 22 and 23 of soft iron or similar magnetic material which are mounted in place by short reduced portions 24 inserted in the plungers and engaged by screws 25 as shown.

An electromagnet designated generally at 26 is provided comprising a core 21 supported at right angles to the plungers Il and I2 by end pieces 28 extended out from the base 2 and mounted by angle brackets 29. The ends of the core 21 extend out to or beyond the plane of the plungers II and I2 but are spaced inwardly a substantial distance from the ends of the plungers whereby they may be pushed inward some distance before the shoes 22 and 23 strike the core. The ends of the core on the side contacted by the shoes 22 and 23 are preferably beveled off as at 30 in order to increase and enhance the magnetic pull on the shoes when the electromagnet is energized, this being a Well known expedient for the purpose. Between the end pieces 28 the core 21 has two windings designated at 3I and 32 in Figure 5, these windings being formed by laying and winding the two wires in parallel.

Jack or leaf spring switches designated generally at 33 and 3d are arranged one adjacent each plunger Il and I2 and include I -shaped brackets 35 and 36 secured by their shorter legs to the mounting plate l outwardly of the apertures d therein so that their longer legs project outwardly in parallelism with but a same distance from the plungers. On these brackets flat leaf springs or blades are secured by insulating spacers 3l and screws 38, the blades for the switch 33 being designated as 33a, 33h and 33e and for the switch 34 as 34a, 34h and 36o. The blades as 33e and :Mc nearest the respective plungers il and l2 are longer and extend beyond the others and have contact offsets or feet 39. Switch operating cams ill and 4I are secured by screws i2 tc the plungers il and I2 and extend laterally and outwardly therefrom toward the blades 33o and 3Go whereby the angular faces i3 of said cams will engage and move said blades outwardly away from the plungers as the latter are pushed inward. This movement .of the blades 33o and @llc causes them to engage and force the free ends of the remaining blades together as shown to the right in Figure 1, said blades all having conventional contact points on their adjacent faces and at their free ends as shown at d4. The cams 4U and ll are cut away at 45 medially and adjacent the plungers I I and I2 whereby to bridge and clear the adjacent ends of the mounting plate 2, this arrangement also preventing nndesired rotation of the plungers.

A thermostatic circuit breaker 46 is provided comprising a strip 41 of bi-metallic metal se cured rigidly at one end at 48 to the shelf 4 and at its free end extended over and normally engaging a contact screw 49 adjustably threaded at 50 in the shelf. A wire 5I is connected at one end to a screw 52 in the shelf and is then wound around an insulating cover 53 on the strip 41 and soldered at its other end 54 to the free end of the strip. The circuit from the screw 52 to the contact screw 49 is thus normally closed but as a current ows through the wire 5I the strip 41 is heated and by unequal expansion bowsor arches away from the contact screw opening the circuit.

The foregoing completes the switch or control mechanism and the whole is enclosed in a boxlike cover or case 55 slipped at its open end over the mountingvplate I and held in place by elongated screw studs 56 and nuts 51. An insulated bushing or grommet 58 is provided in the case back 59 to pass the wires (hereinafter described) and an opening 60 is provided in the bottom 6I to allow access to the contact screw 49 for adjusting the time or period during which the circult breaker 46 remains closed as will be understood.

The control mechanism is particularly adapted for controlling the lighting of a turn indicating signal of the kind shown in Figures 3 and 4 and comprising an elongated rectangular case 62 divided into two compartments by a medial partition 63 and having lamp sockets 64 and 65 in each compartment in which signal lamps 6G and v61 may be placed. A cover 68 is secured by screws S9 to the case 62 and has arrows or arrow shaped openings 1d and 1I over each compartment of the case, said openings being closed by glass lenses 12 and 13 held in place byv clips 14. These lenses may be of any suitable and contrasting colors as forinstance red for the lens 'l2 and green for the lens 13. The signal so constructed is mounted in any suitable location on the automobile as for instance on the rear license plate bracket (not shown). It is understood, however, that the control. mechanism may be employed with any other form of signal or electrical device as desired.

In wiring the control mechanism and signal a wire l5 connects one pole of the usual auto battery D to the inner blades 33o and 34e of the switches 33 and 34 and preferably runs through a protective fuse 'I6 mounted on the rear of the housing 55. II'l'oe other pole of the battery D is grounded in usual manner at "l1 and this and other grounds hereinafter referred to of course form one side of and complete the circuit. 'Ihe winding 3l of the electromagnet 25 is connected at one end by a wire 'i6 to the center blade 34h of switch 34 and at its other end is connected by a wire 19 to the screw 52 and thence through the thermostat strip L31 and contact screw 49 to ground 8G. One end of the winding 32 of the electromagnet is connected by a wire 8l to the center blade 33h of the switch 33 and the other end is connected by a wire 82 to the screw 52 and thence through the same course to ground 88. Attention is called to the connection of these coils 3l and 32 in that opposite ends are connected to the screw 52, that is, the starting end of one winding and the iinishing end of the other winding are connected to the screw. The polarity of the windings is thus reversed for a purpose to be described. The outer blade 33a of switch 33 is connected by a wire 83 to the signal lamp 66 in the turn signal housing and the outer blades 34a of switch 34 is similarly connected by a wire 84 to the other lamp 61. The pilot lamps 20 in the plungers Il and I2 are also connected to these outer blades 33a and 34a, the lamp in each plunger being of course connected to the blade of the adjacent switch. The circuit through the signal lamps 66 and 61 is completed by grounds 85 and 86 and through the pilot lamps 20 by the hereinbefore mentioned grounds 81.

In operation and assuming that the driver wishes to turn to the left he pushes inward on the plunger II at the left until the shoe 22 strikes the electromagnet core 21. The blades of the switch 33 are of course pushed together and closed by the cam 40 and current from the battery D ilows through the winding 32 of the electromagnet and magnetizes the core 21 so that the plunger II is held in this in-thrust position. At the same time the circuit is closed through the signal lamp 66 so that the left turn indicating arrow 10 is lighted, this lighting being indicated to the driver by the lighting of the pilot lamp 20 in plunger II. Current flowing through the winding 32 also ows through the winding on the thermostatic circuit breaker 46 and gradually heats the bi-metallic strip 41 so that it will after a short period of time bow away from the contact screw 49 and open the circuit at this point. The magnetic pull of the core on the shoe 22 is thus removed and the spring I3 will return the l plunger II outward to normal position. As the plunger moves outward the blades of the switch 33 spring apart opening the circuit to the lamps 66 and 20 and of course through the winding 32. The strip 41 as it cools returns to normal position in contact withscrew 49 whereby the winding 32 may be energized again when the switch 33 is closed. From this description the ease with which the control mechanism is operated will be apparent, it being only necessary for the driver to push the plunger I I inward and then release it after which the further operation is entirely automatic. The operation in making a right turn is the same and is performed by pushing inward on the plunger I 2 causing the right turn signal lamp 61 and associated pilot 20 to light.

A particularly novel and advantageous operation is made possible by the use of the two windings 3I and 32 on the electromagnet 26 and the reversed connection on polarity of these windings. Should the driver after pressing the left turn indicating plunger I I decide or be forced, by some emergency to drive straight ahead or even turn to the right he may, by simply pressing inward on the other plunger I2 release the plunger II to return it immediately to its normal position. Assuming as described that the plunger I I has been pushed inward and locked by the current owing through the winding 32 and magnetizing the core 21 now should the plunger I2 be pushed inward the switch 34 will close the circuit to the winding 3I and these two windings being connected oppositely and wired in opposite v polarity will neutralize each other so that the core 21 will not be magnetized as will be understood. The plunger I I being thus released it will be returned to its normal position by the spring I3 without waiting for the thermostatic circuit breaker 46 to heat and open as would otherwise be necessary. If no turn is to be made the plunger I2 may be pushed inward momentarily and just a short distance suflicient to bring the switch blade 34e into contact with the adjacent blade 34h and only the circuit to the winding 3| will then be closed, the circuit to the signal lamp 61 remaining open to avoid confusion. If a turn is to be made to the right the plunger I2 is pushed inward to its fullest extent causing the circuits to close in usual manner. This releasing operation is possible with either plunger as will be readily apparent and is easily and quickly performed even in an emergency.

It is thought that further details of the operation and utility of our invention will be apparent without description at this point and while we have herein set forth a certain preferred embodiment of our invention it is understood that we may vary therefrom in minor details so as best to provide a practical assembly for the purposes specied, not departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim: Y

l. In a device of the kind described, a mounting plate, an electromagnet base plate spaced inwardly from the mounting plate, the said plates having spaced aligned pairs of apertures adjacent their ends, plungers slidably mounted through the said apertures. iron shoes secured in the inner ends of the plungers, an electromagnet secured on the electromagnet base plate, and including a core extended at its ends inwardly of the inner plunger ends and lying in the path thereof the said electromagnets being adapted when energized to attract the said shoes, jack switches mounted alongside the plungers, and switch operating cams mounted on the plungers and extended laterally outward toward and into engagement with the-said jack switches.

2. In a device oi' the kind described, a mounting plate, an electromagnet base plate spaced inwardly from the mounting plate, the said plates having spaced aligned pairs of apertures adjacent their ends, plungers slidably mounted through the said apertures, iron shoes secured in the inner ends of the plungers, an electromagnet secured on the electromagnet base plate, and including a core extended at its ends inwardly of the inner plunger ends and lying in the path thereof, the said electromagnets being adapted when energized to attract the said shoes, jack switches mounted alongside the plungers, and switch operating cams mounted on the plungers and extended laterally outward toward and into engagement with the said jack switches, and the said cams having elongated openings adjacent the plungers and clearing the ends of the electromagnet mounting base whereby to hold the plungers against rotation in the mounting and base plates.

3. In a device of the kind described, a mounting plate, an electromagnet mounting base spaced inwardly from the mounting plate in parallelism therewith, the said plates each having a pair oi.' spaced apertures adjacent their ends and in axial alignment with the apertures in the other plate, a pair of plungers slidably mounted through the said apertures in each of the plates, an electromagnet mounted on its mounting base and including a core extended at each end at right angles to the plungers and into the path of the inner ends thereof whereby the said electromagnet when energized will attract the said plungers, brackets secured to the plungers on their inner faces adjacent the mounting plate, a fiat leaf spring secured to the mounting plate between the plungers and bearing at its ends on the said brackets and urging the plungers outwardly, and switches arranged outwardly adjacent to and cooperating with the said plungers.

4. In a device of the kind described, a mounting plate, an electromagnet mounting base spaced inwardly from the mounting plate in parallelism therewith, the said plates each having a pair of spaced apertures adjacent their ends and in axial alignment with the apertures in the other plate, a pair of plungers slidably mounted through the said apertures in each of the plates, an electromagnet mounted on its mounting base and including a core extended at each end at right angles to the plungers and into the path of the inner ends thereof whereby the said plungers will be magnetically attracted by the said core when the electromagnet is energized, brackets secured to the plungers on their inner faces adjacent the mounting plate, a at leaf spring secured to the mounting plate between the plungers and bearing spaced parallel mounting plates having aligned apertures near their ends, a pair of plungers slidably mounted in parallelism through the said apertures, iron shoes secured at the inner ends of the plungers, an electromagnet mounted on one access:

of the plates and including-a core disposed at right angles to the plungers and extended endv wise into the plane of movementthereof whereby the electromagnet when energized will magnetically attract the said iron shoes, the said plungers being spring set to normally move out.

wardly away from the electromagnet core, cams mounted on the outer opposite sides of the plungers and including spaced feet straddllng the ends of one of the said mounting plates whereby rotation of the plungers is prevented, and leaf i spring switches supported from one of the mounting plates and adapted to be closed by the said cams upon movement o1' the plungers toward the electromagnet.

WILLIAM C. MORTON. FREDERICK J. DEGENFELDER. 

